Is cricket hampering the growth of other sports?

Karthik Wrote [quote] @Kalyani

If you think that the world cup is the only thing that we need to see then it is completely wrong. Based on one tournament you cannot judge the quality of the team. If world cup is the only criteria then South Africa should not be considered as a good team as it didn't won even a single world cup so far. Its the consistency that we need to see and not one single tournament.

Regarding the soccer things that you spoke those things took place in 1950's where our country was not developed in any aspect. Today they are good number of grounds available with quality resources but where are the players?

Regarding my son or daughter if they are really interested in sports and if they have the talent in badminton or any other sport of their choice I will definitely encourage them.

Regards,
Karthik.[/quote]

@Karthik, nowhere in my post have I ever said that we only need to see the world cup!! Understand what I am trying to say!! What I have said about the football team are the facts and even if they happened way back in 1950's, Cricket was still celebrated and the cricketers were treated lavishly way back then too!! Try and look beyond cricket!!
Have you ever heard of a person named Khashaba Jadhav??? He was a wrestler who won the first ever Invididual medal for India in the Olympics. He won the 1952 Bronze medal for wrestling in Helsinki and he died in sheer poverty!! Have you ever heard of similar thing happening to any of the worst-ever seen cricketers!

A tribute to his sterling feat is that it remained unmatched for 56 long years. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Sushil Kumar ultimately won bronze in wrestling equaling - not beating - Jadhav's feat!

I am merely trying to illustrate my opinion that Cricket is indeed hampering teh growth of other sports in India!!

OK Friends discussion is getting hot while it is raining outside here!!

@Kalyani...

World Cup Soccer is not between clubs like Mohun Began , Salgoakar etc but between countries.World Club Champions Trophy is there for clubs.

Now come to our discussion -

Really cricket is hampering other sports in indirect method as I put in my first discussion.Here all the media are giving attention and high priority to cricket.It is because of the fans of cricket and media looks for its profit.Hence no need to blame them as it is their business.But cricket being the cause we have to blame it.

As Sreedevi told Athlets like PT Usha , Shiney Wilson etc who were once the icons of India in World athletics were less paid in those days and also nowadays. PT Usha is running a school of Athletics in Kerala.Authority , even Kerala Government is giving less importance to it while even Kerala is behind IPL cricket team.One of the athlet of this school Miss Tintu Looka gets gold medal in almost all races including international one.Who hears her name? At the opposite if Sreesanth gets fever it is a news in media!!What does it mean?

Karthik told about the consistancy of Indian Cricket team.What is the consistency they are exhibitting?In Zimbabwe they lost the series.In Asia cup also lost to Srilanka. Winning trophies continuously without a defeat is consistancy in my opinion.

Now even government had recognised Cricket as a gold egg laying duck.Hence they also promote cricket more than our national game Hockey.When our hockey team failed to qualify for Olympics it didn't become a news for discussion to channels. But introduction of Cricket in Olympics became a topic. India performs well in Kabadi and introduction of it even in Asian games is not a hot discussion for us (Once it was in Asian games, later removed).

So all the eagles are flying over money only.If there is endless source why should care another less profitable?That is the mind of all.Between it our sports culture also is getting hampered.

Abid:[quote]@Kalyani...

World Cup Soccer is not between clubs like Mohun Began , Salgoakar etc but between countries.World Club Champions Trophy is there for clubs.
[/quote]

Abid, I know that these are football clubs and world cup is not played between clubs!! The point that I was making here was that in spite of having talented players in football, our teams never come close to qualifying for the World Cup!! I am only trying to illustrate my point of view by giving an example which is very similar to the other examples given by you!!

i agreed with you abid,

it is very clear from the present Olympic that China with the highest population in this world is at the top position. India is second to it in population and hence the trend should be that India should be second to it. But, the reality is something else.

Understanding the difference between India and China, I can say that China is utilizing its strongest point of so called man power to be a super power in this world. Its citizens are highly committed towards its duties. In India, the commitment is lacking. Everyone is going behind the thing which is at present in limelight. Overall, money has become the prime motive of people. Athletics and other games are not in limelight because there is lack of money and cooperation by the government. The sports authorities are lacking the commitment towards their duties. Nepotism and Corruptions are at its peak among them.

Also, the another reason is Cricket. It is damaging the image of other games. Indian citizens have given unnecessarily too much weight to CRICKET in their life. Hence thinking about other games have become a rare thing.

This trend can be changed if more like Abhinav Bindra comes up and add glamour to the athletics and other games.

Abid Areacode wrote:
[quote]

Now come to our discussion -

Really cricket is hampering other sports in indirect method as I put in my first discussion.Here all the media are giving attention and high priority to cricket.It is because of the fans of cricket and media looks for its profit.Hence no need to blame them as it is their business.But cricket being the cause we have to blame it.[/quote]

@Abid Areacode,

You said that media is mainly concentrating on Cricket which is absolutely false. If you open any news paper (not papers like THE HINDU etc where 3 or 4 pages are allocated for sports news) some regional news papers like Eenadu etc where there is only page allocated for sports column you can clearly see that the most of the page is filled with soccer with just 1/10th of the page allocating to cricket. Presently Indian cricket team is taking part in Asia Cup and there is no Indian team in Soccer world cup but higher priority is given to Soccer world cup only by the newspapers. Similarly news channels are also mainly concentrating on Soccer world cup.

Regards,
Karthik.

Abid Areacode wrote:
[quote]

Karthik told about the consistancy of Indian Cricket team.What is the consistency they are exhibitting?In Zimbabwe they lost the series.In Asia cup also lost to Srilanka. Winning trophies continuously without a defeat is consistancy in my opinion.

[/quote]

@Abid Areacode,

For Zimbabwe series all our main players were rested and India went on with full reserve bench and presently they won two back to back matches against Bangladesh and Pakistan and they match that they lost against the Sri Lanka was also sort of testing the reserve bench. They didn't enter the field with full strength they rested some of the main players like Baji etc. This is just because they are already in the finals. No team in this world can win all the matches continuously there will be some ups and downs. Consistency means having a good record which is not shown by other sports members. Since other sports are lacking this consistency there is no much craze for other games. If the soccer or hockey has this consistency then surly there will be lot of followers for those games also.

Regards,
Karthik.

I think cricket give more entertainment to us that is the reason media most oriented on this so most youngster like to see and play cricket. So more cricketer and hard hitter come from cricket game.

Other game did not have variety like cricket so that game loose his place like cricket.

Hi Karthick-Media is indeed concentrating on cricket-- one of the reasons is that people read more of cricket news than other sports news.

How many times you would read Tennis news or table tennis news or boxing or badminton news? Maybe tennis news during wimbledon and football news during World cup. In all other days, it just consists of 1 or 2 columns.

Or does everybody know how many medals won by Prakash Padukone who holds the All england championship in shuttle, or for that matter, Leandar Paes, who is one of the current champions for the Australian Open.

And you said that other sports are lacking this consistency. I think tennis is consistently performed well and given the encouragement, it will beat or be at par with cricket.

Abid wrote: [quote]So all the eagles are flying over money only.If there is endless source why should care another less profitable?That is the mind of all.Between it our sports culture also is getting hampered.[/quote]

This is the reason why even govt. is backing BCCI. There is real money to be gained and hence everyone is flocking to cricket.

Karthik, the reason for recent news coverage being given to the current FIFA matches is only seasonal since it is ongoing. Once the world cup is over, they will again turn their attention to cricket as usual!!

And I endorse with whatever Sridevi and Abid have said in their posts!

Hello @everyone,

Everyone are saying that media is not concentrating on other sports. At this point of time Asia Cup final match is going on between India and Sri Lanka and if you look at the any news channel they are showing about Badminton star Sania Nehwal who stood 3rd in world badminton rankings. If there is good performance shown the media automatically turns towards them irrespective of the game they are playing.

Regards,
Karthik.

@Karthik, what you said is true, but teh question is not just about media concentrating on cricket. It is merely an indicator of the frenzy and popularity that cricket has evoked. It is also the fact, and it cannot be denied, that the rules and policies of the govt. with respect to sports is doing nothing for any sport except cricket!
Examples such as Sania Nehwal are far few compared with the overall population of India and the diversity of the sports being played!

We have already forgotten our true heroes who bought home Olympics accolades such as Vijender, Sushil Kumar Abhinav bindra etc.

Well , absolutely , I feel it is as obvious as a kangaroos huge pouch, you just have to open your eyes and notice it. Well , why is there so much people flocking to watch cricket alone ? The reasons according to me are

1- DADS INFLUENCE - I take myself as an example and the reason why I started watching cricket . Everybody in my family watched when Sachin played and sent the balls of Akhtars and the Lees to the fences . Since everybody watched I didn't want to be left out and started watching it too , I guess that is how most kids starts watching . Take for instance the mad crush about football in England . You will find each member of the family supporting a different premier league club like Manchester United , Chelsea and Liverpool to name a few , their cricket is not huge , they only watch the Ashes . All kids I guess see their dad as an idol, when you are young atleast and If your dad is busy watching David Beckham bending the football you would surely feel like watching it and bending one yourself . So when all the dads in our country are watching cricket you will follow his footsteps ..

2 - Sachin Tendulkar - Since 1989, Sachin has been reducing the number of atheists in our country - a post by a fan in crowd . Do I have to say more? . Where has there ever been a kid in India who doesn't want to watch the little genius carve his masterpiece on the cricket field and doesn't want to emulate him . I m sure there are tonnes of kids who just watched Sachin play once and immediately got inspired and decided " CRICKET IS THE GAME FOR ME" . I'm not sure we would even be having this topic if it was not for Sachin . I don't mean to be offensive about Sachin , but hes the main culprit in a good way and has kept the game alive for years .

3- Look at the state of the other sports like Football , hockey and Tennis in India -Do you want a bigger reason ? Or Indians are given enough opportunity but haven't done anything with it ? . Take football for instance , I have been such a big football enthusiast and I have been looking for years to find a proper football coaching centre and boy Im 20 and still searching . There are 1 or 2 but they are too far for my convenience , where as you can find a cricket coaching centre in every area that you live . Tennis courts are few and far too , Sania Mirza is no way a success if anybody is thinking of her , has she ever crossed the 4th round of a Grand Slam ever ?

4-Media - India Pakistan cricket matches are hyped to the core in every Indian paper possible , where they allot a whole page to interview what every single player in both sides thinks about the game and even after the match is over, they talk about it for two days . But have you ever noticed any articles or news feeds about the football match between Indian and Pakistan recently ? We cant deny that media plays a huge factor in our lives and the Indian media is sadly focused more on finding if sreesanth can do hip-hop and teaches samba dance while they don't give a damn to Baichung Bhutia who recently played with all the footballing greats of the world in a friendly match , well then , you are not gonna notice anything .

Conclusion - Is it affecting? Well a huge, yes. We are not able to assemble 11 men from a billion population in tennis or football or hockey and that's surely not because of a lack of talent but a lack of awareness and lack of facility and lack of attention to other sports.

Well , absolutely , I feel it is as obvious as a kangaroos huge pouch, you just have to open your eyes and notice it. Well , why is there so much people flocking to watch cricket alone ? The reasons according to me are

1- DADS INFLUENCE - I take myself as an example and the reason why I started watching cricket . Everybody in my family watched when Sachin played and sent the balls of Akhtars and the Lees to the fences . Since everybody watched I didn't want to be left out and started watching it too , I guess that is how most kids starts watching . Take for instance the mad crush about football in England . You will find each member of the family supporting a different premier league club like Manchester United , Chelsea and Liverpool to name a few , their cricket is not huge , they only watch the Ashes . All kids I guess see their dad as an idol, when you are young atleast and If your dad is busy watching David Beckham bending the football you would surely feel like watching it and bending one yourself . So when all the dads in our country are watching cricket you will follow his footsteps ..

2 - Sachin Tendulkar - Since 1989, Sachin has been reducing the number of atheists in our country - a post by a fan in crowd . Do I have to say more? . Where has there ever been a kid in India who doesn't want to watch the little genius carve his masterpiece on the cricket field and doesn't want to emulate him . I m sure there are tonnes of kids who just watched Sachin play once and immediately got inspired and decided " CRICKET IS THE GAME FOR ME" . I'm not sure we would even be having this topic if it was not for Sachin . I don't mean to be offensive about Sachin , but hes the main culprit in a good way and has kept the game alive for years .

3- Look at the state of the other sports like Football , hockey and Tennis in India -Do you want a bigger reason ? Or Indians are given enough opportunity but haven't done anything with it ? . Take football for instance , I have been such a big football enthusiast and I have been looking for years to find a proper football coaching centre and boy Im 20 and still searching . There are 1 or 2 but they are too far for my convenience , where as you can find a cricket coaching centre in every area that you live . Tennis courts are few and far too , Sania Mirza is no way a success if anybody is thinking of her , has she ever crossed the 4th round of a Grand Slam ever ?

4-Media - India Pakistan cricket matches are hyped to the core in every Indian paper possible , where they allot a whole page to interview what every single player in both sides thinks about the game and even after the match is over, they talk about it for two days . But have you ever noticed any articles or news feeds about the football match between Indian and Pakistan recently ? We cant deny that media plays a huge factor in our lives and the Indian media is sadly focused more on finding if sreesanth can do hip-hop and teaches samba dance while they don't give a damn to Baichung Bhutia who recently played with all the footballing greats of the world in a friendly match , well then , you are not gonna notice anything .

Conclusion - Is it affecting? Well a huge, yes. We are not able to assemble 11 men from a billion population in tennis or football or hockey and that's surely not because of a lack of talent but a lack of awareness and lack of facility and lack of attention to other sports.

Well said balaji with real time examples.

but why did you post it twice?

Country of billion and just 1 Gold medal
Highly deplorable condition it is ... really just ponder if Bindra would have just missed the final shot den we would have been devoid of opening our account in the olympics list. According to me ..The reason behind the lack of our performance during olympics game is just because every game in our country is not promoted as compared to Cricket. The whole world ,,every state ,every street people just practice "Cricket" and foremost all other sport player are just lacking in killer instinct. They are never been heavily awarded and appreciated for their small win if they r playing sport other than Cricket. Media also doesn't hype bout those player ,,so it's lacking effort from everywhere which forces the young players to think as if their career in any sport apart from cricket will be in doldrums!!

Yes.. Gautham Balaji has also put forward nicely. Some TV channels dedicated to sports, may be telecasting all events, but major attraction in TV and paper is cricket.

It is time that other sportspeople and the sports ministry together with the government work together to set up the necessary infrastructure and training camps to promote other sports.

Also, the matches for other sports need to be increased and professionalism in governing bodies for overshadowed games like archery and shooting be ensured.

Apologies to moderator and members for posting it twice , Im a new bee here and I didnt intent to post it twice , dont know what happened . I cant say any delete button to remove it, can someone tell me how to remove the post . thanks in advance .

@ Karthik
You are right it has been appreciated well and it is out in newspapers and news channels . But I have a question . How many people the path that lead to where she stands now , No 3 ?

. News -Saina won back-to-back titles, India Open Grand Prix and the Singapore Open Super Series in the last two weeks and jumped 3 spots from no 6 to no 3.

Im not gonna pretend I knew she won both the titles and that is why she is up here now . Where did the media go when she won the above said two titles ? I guess, they were busy finding out if Yuvraj is crying in his mothers lap or fathers lap for excluding him from the team . I sure didn't see any news about it or any whole page dedicated to her achievements .

Karthik wrote:
[quote]Abid Areacode wrote:
[quote]

@Abid Areacode,

You said that media is mainly concentrating on Cricket which is absolutely false. If you open any news paper (not papers like THE HINDU etc where 3 or 4 pages are allocated for sports news) some regional news papers like Eenadu etc where there is only page allocated for sports column you can clearly see that the most of the page is filled with soccer with just 1/10th of the page allocating to cricket. Presently Indian cricket team is taking part in Asia Cup and there is no Indian team in Soccer world cup but higher priority is given to Soccer world cup only by the newspapers. Similarly news channels are also mainly concentrating on Soccer world cup.


Dude , I hope you understand football is the biggest game on planet earth with the most passionate fans you will ever find . I noticed you keep on comparing the world cup with Asia cup, that's like comparing Mercedez benz with a Tata Nano car . And Media is not doing this to promote football , dont you believe , they just dont want to be left out . Media are like a cat and they go behind where there's milk (FIFA world cup ) , they will do anything that catches peoples attention . Lets see what happens after the world cup gets over . They will suddenly turn a blind eye to football and come back crawling like a hungry deer for some grass(cricket)

@Gotham Balaji, you have very well illustrated your point of view!! That is what exactly I have been saying!!

The reason you won't find a proper coaching centre for football is opretty obvious. No individual can take up such an enormous task on his own and those who can afford to do it will not simply because its not cricket!!

SImilar to football and hockey in India, there are many other sports suffering the same lack of attention. Take Mallakhamb for eg. Truly truly Indian sport in spirirt, it is as demanding, exacting and challenging sport as figure skati8ng or gymnastics or any other similar sport. But have we been able to give it International recognition???

What about the likes of Narain Karthikeyan, Karnam Malleshwari etc??
All these sports have suffered the same neglect owing to teh frenzy that cricket evokes. and now with the entry of filmstars into the circus arena that cricket has become, it just has become more farcical.